Soul of the Blade
by CeredwenFlame
Summary: She has been forgotten, eventhough her supernatural counterpart has not, but she's still watching...
1. Glowing Eyes

Title: Soul of the Blade  
Author: Cara (SerenaShade)  
E-Mail: SerenaShade@bolt.com  
Distribution: Ask first...though I probably won't say no...Still asking is nice.  
Rating somewhere around PG 13 perhaps R for crime scene descriptions.  
Feedback: Always a plus  
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS. WITCHBLADE IS THE PROPERTY OF TOP COW PRODUCTIONS. I am simply using this as an outlet for the inspiration that the show has given to me. I am making no profit off of this; this is simply for the enjoyment of myself and the other people that love the show as much as I do. The only part that I do take credit for is the character Phoenix, she is the product of my over active imagination.  
  
Part I - Glowing Eyes  
  
A seed from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil planted in the womb of a barren, mortal woman. A child born of the blade... to guard it, to guide it to the true wielders throughout all time... She was born at the same time as the blade, but unlike the blade, she has been forgotten. A baby with eyes like old amber... two circles intertwined on her back... seized the day she was born by the priests that had helped her mother with the trials of not having been able to have children. The child was taken into the temple and the witchblade placed immediately upon her wrist. There it did stay until the first true wielder was born. The blade let its living soul know that it was time to seek out the true wielder by falling from her wrist. Trained to be the guardian, the keeper of the blade, only to be a wielder if the true one died before her time. A keeper of the memories of those that have worn the blade, a recorder of its history, the protector of the blade and its wearer, and so much more. She keeps to the shadows, trying her best to fulfill her destiny. She never knew what it was like to be a child, or what it was like to be human, for she was never human. She was the first to wear the blade, but she did not wield it, it wielded her. Time has passed; she has watched the blade change hands more times than she cares to count... Immortal, beautiful, but a stranger in this world...  
  
The dream played out before the sleeping Sara Pezzini like an old black and white film. There was a baby on an altar in some sort of strange temple. There were priests surrounding the child, which was strange, she must be seeing things from a vantage point above them. The baby opened its eyes, and suddenly Sara Pezzini saw a flash of color, familiar color. The baby's eyes were the color of old amber, kind of like the gem in the witchblade. The baby was turned over and on its back were two joined circles, much like the mark Sara now bore on her chest, only hers was smaller. The baby was turned back over and the priests took what looked to be a bracelet and placed it on the baby's wrist. When the priest moved his hand, Sara could see the bracelet for what it was...and woke with a start.  
"What the hell? Why would they place it on a baby?" Sara muttered to herself. She looked at her alarm clock. It was close to time for her to be getting up so she shut off her alarm and got out of bed. She dressed and tried to shake the dream from her mind. She needed to focus on work; she didn't need to give Dante any easy reasons for getting on her case. She walked downstairs and out onto the sidewalk. She walked around the side of her building to the place where she kept her bike and got on her way to work.  
"Hey Pez, we've got a case."  
"What?"  
"Down by the old warehouse district, looks like someone is either mimicking our corlach case from a while back or has put a new twist on their own dark tale." Jake said, his voice worried.  
"What's the victim look like?"  
"They said we'd have to see it when we got there to believe it."  
"Let's go rookie." Sara said as she turned and headed out of the precinct.   
  
The scene of the crime was the same as the one that has been used in the druidic sacrifice case they had had a few months back. Conchobar's symbol was still on the wall. Only this time, on the stone, was a young man. He looked like he had been laid out for crucifixion ... His hands were bolted to the stone at the wrists; his feet hung off the end of the dais. There was a cut from the hollow of the young man's throat down to his sternum, and there were strange markings on his chest and down his arms. The man was shirtless, but his pants were more like slacks, though not as dressy. It was then that Sara looked at the full scene of the man on the round stone dais... His heart was lying beside him with a bolt through it as well. Sara turned and put her hand over her mouth, she felt like she was going to be sick.  
"This mark looks like it was done by a mortician, for an autopsy. But I don't think that this guy was taken from the morgue. Someone cleaned him up after they were done with him. God whoever did this was sick." Said one of the forensics officers. Sara barely heard them; the witchblade was showing her what had happened, at least in part. Sara restrained the urge to vomit.   
The man was at a club; he walked out into the alley and was struck from behind. He woke up looking at the strange symbol on the wall... He was gagged and he felt cold stone beneath him, his shirt was gone. People circling around him, one drawing on him in blood or red paint...the gleam of a blade - a scalpel... the young man screaming. All the rest was blocked as Sara felt a firm hand on her shoulder.  
"You all right partner?"  
"Yeah, it's just that the scene..."  
"Yeah, I know, it's a bit much. So what do you think?"  
"I don't know what to think Jake."  
"What's the you know what telling you?"  
"Looks like ritualistic sacrifice to me."  
"What all did you see?"  
"Not much Jake, we'll talk about this later, okay?"  
"Yeah sure."  
"Make sure they take pictures of every last detail, we're going to need them if we're going to research this thing."  
"No problem Pez."  
"I'm going to get some air, okay Jake?"  
"Sure Pez. I'll join you in a few." Sara nodded and walked out of the warehouse.  
"God Conchobar, I wish you were here, perhaps you'd have a tale for this mystery as well."  
"I just might."  
"John."  
"Aye, but not for long. I cannae stay."  
"Then why are you here?"  
"To help you."  
"With?"  
"Yer case."  
"Oh."  
"You know, yer getting' a bit better with that thing. 'Twasn't that long ago that you could only see Danny."  
"You've met him?"  
"Aye, we go out and talk about you."  
"Uh-oh does that mean I'm in trouble?"  
"Not at all luv, not at all." Conchobar laughed. Sara shook her head. She looked around to make sure that no one else was around to hear her talking to the person that only she could see. The coast was clear, much to her relief.  
"I can see yer not too comfortable with me here... I'll talk to ye when yer alone later."  
"See you soon John."  
"Aye luv, that ye will." John laughed as he faded out.  
"This is getting weirder all the time." Sara said to herself as she shook her head. From the shadows, a person that Sara could not see and was to far away from to hear spoke:  
"This is only the beginning Sara, this is only the beginning."  
  
The figure from the shadows moved and began walking down the narrow alley she had been standing next to. She walked down the alley, across the street and up a flight of stairs. Once inside, she went up several more flights of stairs and finally came to a long corridor with doors. She walked past the first few to the very last one on the right. She opened the door and walked inside... The young woman was dressed in black jeans, a black t-shirt; black work boots and had on a long black leather duster. She threw the duster to the couch and sat down beside it.   
She was a striking young woman, with long, auburn hair and eyes that looked like old amber in firelight... much like the stone in the witchblade. It was very odd... She wasn't exceptionally tall, standing only at a mere 5'5". She was lithe and well built though and looked a bit athletic. Her skin was pale and she looked tired. She had been up all night with the visions again. How long was this going to go on? She shook her head; she knew very well that it would never stop. She sighed and looked out the nearby window... It was going to be another long night. Suddenly she felt as if there were another person with her in the room...  
"So which guardian are you? The bard or the cop?" She spoke out into the empty room. A figure slowly appeared...  
"The bard. Why are ye watching Sara?"  
"I too am a guardian, only I am a living one."  
"You're to guard Sara?"  
"In a round a bout way, yes."  
"Who are ye lass?"  
"Hmmm to answer the spirit's question or to leave him wonder?"  
"Please lass, don't keep me in suspense."  
"Phoenix, Phoenix Magae. If you must know."  
"So who are you guarding?"  
"Sara and the witchblade, until they separate, then I will safe guard the blade until the next wielder rises."  
"Who do ye work for?"  
"I work for the blade, and no one else. Trust me if Kenneth Irons knew I was in town, he'd be sending people to capture me. I'm a way to the blade you see. I would never work for that man."  
"How'd you know who I was thinking of?"  
"The blade allows us to see you, and so it allows me to know what you're thinking. Besides it was the obvious choice."  
"Well now that I know ye won't be hurting my lady I'll leave you be. Still wondering how you can see me though."  
"It isn't important how I can see you, only that I can." Phoenix replied and with that Conchobar was gone. Phoenix sighed, this wasn't good... damn nosy spirits. The last thing she needed was for one of them to go to Sara and get her to question things. Oh sure, if Sara found her on her own she'd not hesitate to help, but other than that she wasn't going anywhere near there. She picked up her duster and in one fluid movement it was on and she was out the door...  
**  
She walked back to the area near the scene of the crime, for she knew that's where the current blade wielder was. Being sure to stay in the shadows and to cloak herself with her inherent abilities of subterfuge, she watched, and waited. With all of the meddlesome spirits about, she might just have to go there before she was called. She knew already that this wielder had had the dream of the baby, already she was questioning it in her mind. It would only be a matter of time before she started asking the right questions to the wrong people. If Kenneth heard that Sara had had the dream, it wouldn't be long before he was sending out the search parties.   
Sara was talking to her partner, Jake McCartey and they seemed to be having a very deep and private discussion. Phoenix cocked her head to the side, narrowed her eyes, and took a deep, relaxing breath. It wasn't long before she could hear what they were saying...  
"So, what's it telling you?"  
"I told you Jake, not here, and not now."  
"That bad huh?"  
"Worse."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah Jake, so drop it until later."  
"Well how much later are we talking?"  
"What's the matter rookie, got a hot date tonight?"  
"No, it isn't that, I just want to know."  
"Fine, meet me at my place in two hours."  
"Why two hours?"  
"I'm going to ask Danny if he knows anything."  
"Going to the Graveyard?"  
"You guessed it."  
"See you in two hours then Pez."  
"Yeah Jake." Sara said as she walked towards her motorcycle. The graveyard, that was good, that would be a very safe place to confront Sara. Phoenix only hoped that it went well. She didn't need a wielder that would turn her in to the enemy. Phoenix walked to her apartment building and got on to her own motorcycle and raced to the cemetery that she had seen Ms. Pezzini at so many times.  
Waiting in the shadows of a crypt, Phoenix watched and listened to the conversation. Knowing full well that the ghost, Danny knew she was there. She need only wait for him to create her opportunity for her, and these meddlesome spirits seemed to be very good at doing just that.  
"Don't look now Sara, but you're being watched."  
"Nottingham?"  
"No, someone more dangerous, and yet you are in no danger."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Walk over to that crypt over there and find out for yourself." Danny said. Sara walked over to where Phoenix was standing.  
"Who are you and why are you watching me?"  
"My name is of little import at the current moment, and I am watching you because it is my job."  
"You work for Irons?"  
"That old fool? Hardly. Besides, if he knew I was in town, it wouldn't be very likely that I would be here speaking to you."  
"And why is that?" Sara asked sarcastically. Phoenix extended her hand to catch Sara's wrist before Sara had the chance to blink.  
"This is the reason. The witchblade, you saw me in a dream, the baby on the altar. The first child to where this cursed thing. I am Phoenix, Phoenix Magae. Born of the blade for the blade. I am its living soul, its guardian. The wielder is an extension of the blade and so I protect the wielder as well."  
"Phoenix Magae? Like digitabulum magae?"  
"Yes Sara. I share a name with the witchblade. Translated my name becomes Phoenix Blade. For now, I guess you may call me Nikki if you wish."  
"Alright...Nikki, why are you here?"  
"The witchblade and your dream. I cannot run the risk of you telling Irons that you had the dream, although he probably already knows sine he is connected to you because he had to put the damn thing on his wrist. That is besides the point. Do not speak of me to him or his lap dog, if you do, I will take over in your stead, but in order for me to do that, you have to be dead. Do you understand?"  
"I think so."   
"I do not make idle threats Sara, nor do I wish to follow through on that one. But I must protect myself, for if I fall then the blade will follow, and whoever is wearing it when I am captured will be in the gravest of danger." Phoenix said as she turned and walked away. 


	2. Familiar Shadows

Part II - Familiar Shadows  
  
"Well that was weird." Sara said to herself.  
"Aye, and its only going to get weirder." Said a familiar voice.  
"Conchobar." Sara said as she closed her eyes, knowing she couldn't touch him was killing her… She didn't want to look at him, if she looked at him she'd want to touch him and she wasn't allowed.  
"Who was that John?"  
"She is exactly who she said she is. I caught her watching you earlier and I checked out her story… It works… She's telling the truth…"  
"How can it be possible?"  
"I'm not sure luv, I'm not sure." John said softly. Sara sighed. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was studying her intently, his eyes full of passion and sadness. He too was suffering from the fact that they could not touch.  
"Seeing ye and not bein' able to touch ye is killin' me slowly luv."  
"You're already dead." Sara laughed weakly.  
"Aye that I am… that I am." He said with that funny half smile that was so charming… At least he still had his sense of humor…   
**  
Phoenix continued to walk away… She knew the bard was with Sara, but at least he couldn't tell her anything she didn't already know. She felt eyes upon her… Someone was watching her… She sighed… How many confrontations would she have to have today? She kept walking; if he wanted to talk to her, he would have to come to her, because she wasn't going to stop to talk to anyone now. She got back to her apartment and threw her coat to the couch, as was her customary habit. She knew he was following her… she knew who he was, even knew who - no what he worked for. She was not looking forward to this meeting, not in the least. She made her way to the wall opposite the fire escape and then, she waited.  
**  
He was not expecting her to be waiting for him. He had expected her to even know that he was coming, but the strange young woman he had seen talking to Lady Sara was ready. She was leaning against the far wall looking out the window at the fire escape, waiting almost expectantly. Then before he could blink or even move, she was there, opening the window. How had she done that?  
"Enter… Nottingham. * Sigh * this was going to happen sooner or later… and it looks like fate chose sooner." She said flatly. Curiosity made him enter.  
"Why were you threatening Lady Sara?"  
"For her protection… and mine…" she said… again her voice flat, showing no emotion. She must be very well trained. He could not find any weakness to prey upon to find out the information that he wanted to know… and yet so far she seemed to be freely giving him answers. But he liked to be prepared just in case, however this was not his home, it was hers… she had the upper hand.  
"Who are you?"  
"That, I cannot tell you."  
"Why not?"  
"Because, then, I would have to kill you."  
"Why?"  
"You cannot be trusted with that information… and you will not get it from anyone."  
"Why not?"  
"The same reason that you can never be free." She said coldly, and her words stung him.  
"I do not understand." He said trying to draw it out of her. Then, he was on his back and the strange young woman was on top of him and she had her hand to his throat. Suddenly Ian was painfully aware that this strange young woman could probably kill him if she wanted to.  
"The man that you work for… the snake… must not know that I am here."  
"Why not?"  
"The information will bring your, Lady Sara… great harm."  
"Will you hurt her?"  
"No, your master will." She said still keeping her voice cold. Every time she said the word master it was as if she spat it at him… as if she couldn't bring herself to say the word save to let him know who she meant.  
"How could the knowledge of you do that?" He asked simply… keeping his voice soft. The woman sighed as if she did not want to tell him…  
"Because of what I am. Because of what he would do with that knowledge. It is only a blessing that he cannot kill me - though that could turn out to be a curse. It doesn't matter because he's not going to find out." She said, squeezing his throat, only slightly just to make him listen to her.  
"If you do not wish for him to know, then you will have to explain this to me."  
"He has told you that the Witchblade is a branch from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil… correct?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, I am a… seed from that same tree. Come now Ian, did you not ever wonder why there was a picture of a baby on an altar in his hall dedicated to the blade?"  
"It did strike me as odd."  
"I am not like you or Sara…"  
"Then what are you?"  
"The blade." There she had said it… she only hoped that she would not have to kill him to keep this secret. But she knew he would not leave until he knew… and he would tell if he did leave without knowing the severity of the consequences that the knowledge of her could bring.  
"How?" Ian couldn't help but sound shocked.  
"It's living soul… It's guardian." Ian just lay there… he was too shocked to move. There was something about the young woman… something he couldn't place… He looked her up and down, and then his eyes finally settled on hers… and what he saw shouldn't have been possible. Staring back at him were twin gems… twin Witchblade gems.  
"What will happen if my… master finds out about you?"  
"He will come for me… and if he is able to capture me, the world is doomed."  
"Why?"  
"Because evil will control the blade."  
"Lady Sara would never allow that to happen."  
"Your Lady Sara would be dead."  
"How would he control the blade then?"  
"Think of what I am Ian… I can wield it. Add that to the technology and knowledge he has at his disposal, he would find a way to turn me against myself. And because I cannot die… he would not die… but the world would."  
"I understand." Ian sighed and lowered his head, his chin almost coming to rest on her hand.  
"If you care at all for your… Lady Sara… you will make damn sure that your master never finds out that I am here. If he does, he'll kill Sara, I'll kill you for telling him, and then I will have to retrieve the blade and that may prove to be what ends the world… * Squeezes his throat hard * DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" She asks fiercely. To which Ian nods… The grip on his throat loosens.  
"Will you tell him?"  
"No my lady, I will not."  
"Good… Now get out of here and forget that I exist… but do not forget my warning for that warning will save your life and Sara's." She said as she stood and walked away from him. Ian slowly and cautiously rose to his feet.  
"Use the door Ian… From now on if you come to my window you will find yourself unable to enter, for I have the power to keep you out…. However if you come to my door, you will be let in… I will not keep you out. Is that clear?"  
"Yes, my lady." He said with a nod of his head… This man was whipped… in the worst way… This was beyond being chivalrous… this was sick… this was subservient.  
"Good… Oh, and Ian?"  
"Yes?"  
"If you ever get tired if being a lap dog, let me know."  
"Why?"  
"Because my dear Ian, the four of us can set you free."  
"Four?"  
"Yes. Sara… you… the blade and myself…. It is a shame to see our knight as little more than a tyrant's slave. Imagine the good we could do if we were rejoined - but that is not likely to become a reality… this life anyway."  
"Why is that?"  
"Because, you'll never leave him." She said simply... Then she heard the door click shut. Phoenix smiled slyly to herself. She knew that Ian would not tell Irons about her. She also knew that Ian would be back with questions once he went over their conversation and realized that she had called him their knight.  
**  
Ian walked to Sara's apartment building… but instead of making his way to the fire escape, he went in the door and up the stairs. The words from the strange young woman were still burning in his mind. He stood outside Sara's door in the empty hallway and realized what he had done… Just as he was about to leave, the door opened.  
"Should I be worried that you are at my door instead of on the fire escape at my window?" She said with a half laugh. He looked and her and tried to think of something to say.  
"I am sorry… I - I should… this isn't…" He hung his head… his focus was gone after what the strange young woman had managed to do to him.  
"Just get in here Nottingham. You look like you could use someone to talk to."  
"Perhaps it would be wise."  
"What?" Sara said shocked… She hadn't expected him to agree.  
"I talked to the young woman that confronted you today."  
"Oh?" Sara asked while in her mind she said Uh-Oh.  
"Yes, and she informed me that it would be very unwise for me to inform my… master that she is here… and I must say that she made it rather convincing."  
"And how did she do that?" She asked trying to hide her amusement.  
"She almost killed me… could have and for all of my training, I would not have been able to stop her. But it wasn't so much that as what she told me."  
"What did she tell you?"  
"What might - no what would happen to you if he found out."  
"And why did that convince you?"  
"I will not allow harm to come to you Lady Sara… that I can prevent without betraying my… * sigh * master." Suddenly the thought of being Irons' employee, was no longer appealing… and the fact that he had to consider… He shook his head to clear his thoughts.  
"Why is that?" Sara asked… Ian sighed.  
"I love you Lady Sara… in unguarded moments." He said so softly… It was so soft a reply that Sara almost hadn't heard it.  
"What?" Sara asked in shock.  
"I should go."  
"Oh no you don't, Ian Nottingham. You're not going to tell me that you love me and then leave without explaining."  
"I… do not know how to…. * Sigh * but ever since… I met you I have felt a… connection to you… And I have… come to… care for you… It would… pain me to see harm come to you that I could prevent, and even that which I could not." He sighed and looked away as if he were ashamed. Sara didn't know what to say. She too had felt a strange connection to Ian from their first meeting forward.  
"Everything is connected Pez." Danny said… Sara looked to her dead partner as if to tell him to shut up. When she looked back, Ian was gone.  
"Connected how this time Danny?"  
"Ask the phoenix."  
"You actually want me to talk to her?"  
"Yes."  
"Why?"  
"Why not?"  
"She's… scary." Sara said trying to come up with something… Danny only laughed.  
"She can help you and will if you let her. She will not hurt you unless you make her. Go to her."  
"I don't know where to find her."  
"Let the blade guide you."  
"Danny…"  
"She's waiting for you." He said and with that, he was gone. God did Sara hate it when he did that. 


	3. Untread Paths

Part III - Untread Paths  
  
Sara took the Buell and at a stop sign or a street light, she would let the blade tell her which way to go. Finally she was at an apartment building. The area was familiar, it was near the recent crime scene... which meant it was also near the place where Conchobar had been killed. She winced as she remembered that day. She parked her bike somewhere inconspicuos in the hopes that no one would notice it. Then she made her way to around the front of the building and in through the front doors. She looked at the list of names, but none of them resembled in any way the name the girl had given her. Sara looked down to the bracelet on her wrist which swirled and gave her the urge to go up the stairs... The Witchblade kept giving Sara the inkling to turn certain places until she was finally in front of a door. The number plate was gone, almost to make it so the apartment did not exist. Just as Sara was about to knock on the door, it opened.  
  
"Welcome Sara. I've been expecting you."  
"So I've been told." Sara said absentmindedly as Nikki invited her to enter the apartment.  
"Nosy spirits." Nikki chuckled, the sound was almost warm.  
"What do you mean?"  
"The bard, the cop... nosy spirits both of them. Worse in death than they were in life."  
"You can see them?"  
"I can."  
"How?" Sara asked. Nikki turned to face Sara and peered down at her - Sara hadn't noticed that Nikki was so tall.  
"My dear, have you forgotten your dream so soon?"  
"Oh.. that's right... you're the living blade."  
"Unfortunately."  
"You don't wish to be?"  
"Sara, I cannot die. I am not like you. You get to die and be reborn. I get to live and watch everyone and everything around me die and change while I am still the same. But I am not the reason you are here. You have questions to which I more than likely have the answers. So ask away." Nikki said as she lounged in a chair. She looked tired. Like a lazy jungle cat and like a jungle cat she was just as deadly lounging as she was fully alert. Sara sat on the couch.  
"What is it with Nottingham?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Why is he so... awkward, what did you do to him?"  
"I put some sense into him, contrary to what that bastard Irons has been putting into him."  
"What do you mean?'  
"I told him the truth.... I could have killed him, but instead I talked to him... He was going to try to pry the information from me, but I thought it would just be better to tell him and get it over with. I suppose he will be paying me another visit once his head clears and he is able to go over the conversation that he and I had."  
"What was so important?"  
"Would you care for a drink Sara.... Some coffee perhaps? I have several varieties.... "  
"Not going to answer my question?"  
"In time Sara, but I'm trying to be a hostess too..." Nikki said with a forced laugh.  
"Irish Creme if you have it."  
"Coming up as soon as it perks. I prefer the Creme myself." Nikki said as she walked into the kitchen to make the coffee. Sara waited until Nikki rejoined her to start the conversation up again.  
  
"I had to make sure that he would not betray me to Irons. I also told him that if he ever got tired of being a lapdog to give me a call. Other than that the only poignant thing was that I chastised him for his inability to come in through the front door. And told him that if he ever came to my window again he'd find that he'd be unable to enter, but if he came to my door, I would not deny him entrance."  
"So that's why he was at my door instead of my window."  
"Yes. I think I scared him, if that is possible."  
"You deffinately scared him and I don't think that many people or things can scare Nottingham..."  
"You really should call him Ian. It sounds so much better. Everytime I hear Nottingham I think of the sheriff.."  
"I never thought of it that way before."  
"Yes well I have much more time to think than you do..."  
"You must."  
"Some days there is nothing to do but think."  
"Have you any other questions?"  
"Yes, many. But I don't know where to start."  
"You're still hung up on the fact that he told you that he loves you."  
"How did you know he said that?"  
"Sara quit being forgetful - the blade dear..."  
"Sorry, that's going to take some getting used to."  
"I will keep reminding you until you no longer need reminding...." Phoenix chided....  
**  
  
"IAN!!!!" a deep voice bellowed which in turn echoed throughout the large expanse of a room, making it sound all the more ominous.  
"Yes sir?"  
"Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you for an hour."  
"Sorry sir. My phone must be malfunctioning, I'll have it checked."  
"You do that Ian. Now where were you?"  
"Following Lady Sara as you instructed."  
"Good, I want you to keep a close eye on her. See if anyone new starts hanging around her. Someone with strange amber eyes, probably a young woman."  
"Yes sir, but why?"  
"Do not question me boy."  
"Sorry sir."  
"Dismissed."  
"Yes sir." Ian walked out of the room and suddenly had the urge to march back in there and snap Irons' neck. He did not, he knew that Irons had a gun with him, so it would be unwise to make so blod a move against the man. Perhaps that strange young woman would have some ideas as to how to deal with Irons. 'Stop thinking like that Ian. You can't betray the man that gave you life.' 'some life' Ian's mind argued. He walked out into the cool night air.  
**  
  
Sara watched Phoenix as she got up to get the coffee... She isn't that tall, she just seems so because of her energy because of how she presents herself. I wonder if I come across like that, Sara thought.  
"Only when you're pissed off."  
"What?"  
"You look a lot bigger than you really are when you're pissed off."  
"You can read my mind?"  
"I can do a lot of things."  
"This is strange."  
"They do say that the truth is stranger than fiction."  
"What else can you do?"  
"Sorry Sara, you don't get all my secrets just yet." Nikki laughed as she handed Sara a cup of coffee. The two sat and drank coffee and talked as if they were old friends, across the room, they were being watched.  
"You think this'll be a common thing?"  
"Not sure."  
"It's a bit odd seein' them together isn't it?"  
"It is."  
"You think Sara'll be alright?"  
"I think so John, in time...." Suddenly a pillow was thrown directly between the two watchers.  
"Damn nosy spirits mind your damn buisiness." Nikki chuckled.  
"This is our business lass." Conchobar chuckled.  
"Well do it more quietly."  
"Fine fine fine... have it yer way."  
"I fully intend to bard, I fully intend to." Nikki purred. She laughed as the bard straightend at the sound she made.  
"What's so funny?" Sara inquired.  
"Your bard is a laugh and a half. But they're intruding in on a private conversation and rather loudly and rudely I might add."  
"They're? Danny's here too? And I haven't heard them..."  
"They can hide from you and they're finding out hiding from me isn't so easy."  
"I see..." Sara said in a puzzled tone. The boys shrugged and did that spirit fade out.  
"Finally... some peace and quiet." Nikki laughed. The pillow came flying back at her.  
"You'll pay for that later bard." Nikki said under her breath.  
"How can they do that and not be able to touch us?"  
"Innanimate objects are different than people... No rules surrounding them."  
"Rules?"  
"Yeah sticky situation that... I'll explain that later, it's a long story and you need to go home and get some rest. It's going to be an exciting day tomorrow."  
"Really?"  
"Yes. No more than that... but yes."  
"Alright. Goodnight Nikki."  
"Goodnight Sara." Nikki said as she walked Sara to the door.  
**  
Sara got on her bike and made her way back home. That was certainly strange. It was almost like she and the phoenix had been old friends. It had been a long time since she had talked like that with anyone. She missed it. Then the interaction between Nikki and the 'damn nosy spirits' was a laugh and a half itself. She finally got home a little bit after midnight. Her apartment felt cozy, she hadn't realized that she was missing the comfort of her own apartment. Nor had she realized how comfortable she had been in Nikki's home until she was back in her own. It was strange, what was between them, a sort of kinship almost. Sara got a quick shower and then threw on a t-shirt and shorts and set her alarm. Morning was going to come all too soon...Sara thought and with that she climbed into bed after turning off her lights.... It was going to come way too soon indeed. 


	4. The Angel

Chapter 4: The Angel  
  
Nikki had been right, it had been an exciting day, but then almost everyday was exciting when you were a homicide cop - well except for paperwork days. Someone had been tampering with their case evidence, as if they were trying to incriminate someone else or at least delete themselves from the suspect list. Sara got home from work and crashed on her couch. She was beginning to tire of this. every day it there was some new puzzle to be solved and every night there were visions to plague her sleep. Her candle was burning at both ends, and if she didn't get a break from it soon, she was going to snap.  
  
Across town, Nikki could feel a disturbance in the web of the blade's sphere of influence. She decided that it might be a wise idea to go and pay Sara Pezinni a visit. Somewhere - else, someone else had a similar inclination to pay the homicide detective a little visit.  
  
Nikki studied the door to Sara's apartment carefully, waiting for the Witchblade to alert the wielder to her presence. She knew that Sara was dozing and didn't really want to disturb her. Suddenly she could feel someone else in the hall with her, she tried to ignore them.  
  
"Hey, who are you and what are you doing lurking like that?" A strangely familiar voice inquired. Nikki turned to slowly face the source of the voice. Before her was a figure that she had never expected to ever see - again.  
  
"The angel." Nikki said softly, her face turning almost sad. The door to the apartment opened and when Gabriel looked to it, Nikki disappeared.  
  
"Nikki?" a groggy Sara called.  
  
"You know her?" Gabe inquired.  
  
"Yeah, something's not right. I've never seen her - emotional."  
  
"She did seem sad."  
  
"I know, and that's not like her. Follow me, we're going to go see what's up."  
  
"Sure thing Chief."  
  
Nikki sat on her couch in shock. He was back, he was actually here. She hadn't expected to ever see him again. Not after what had happened the last time she had seen him so long ago. Not after she had hurt him so deeply.  
  
"Hey Nikki, you okay in there?" A concerned Pez called.  
  
"Sara?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Come in, the door is open." Nikki said, her voice barely reaching the other side of the door. Sara opened the door and she and Gabe entered the apartment.  
  
"You brought him. * sigh *" Nikki said, her voice distant.  
  
"Is that a problem?"  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Time - memories - a lot of things. You cannot understand how truly lucky you are to be able to die and be reborn. You get to forget while I have to live with each and every memory - unending."  
  
"Um what is she talking about Sara?"  
  
"I suppose I should explain myself Gabriel." Nikki said, her voice unusually soft.  
  
"H-how did you know my name?" Gabe inquired. Nikki looked him deep in the eyes allowing hers to flash and swirl like the gem in the Witchblade.  
  
"I know a lot of things Mr. Bowman. I know things that you would never believe. I know things that would make your blood run cold. I know things that would burn your soul. I know things that you would sell your soul to find out."  
  
"How?" Gabe asked. Nikki turned and looked out the window.  
  
"A seed, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, planted in the womb of a barren woman. She shall become timeless, this child. She shall guard, she shall watch, she shall protect and if necessary, she shall wield." Nikki quoted.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I am the living soul of the Witchblade. Created by it, from it, for it. Never given the choice, my fate sealed before I was even born." Nikki said sadly.  
  
"Whoa! But why are you telling me this"  
  
"There shall be four entities to guard, to aid, to help. They shall be drawn to the blade. One to wield - One to guard - One to record - and One to support. These entities shall carry these duties for all time be they timeless or not. The Lady, The Knight, The Phoenix, and the Angel. These shall be the facets, these shall be forever bout to the Blade, and so bound to each other."  
  
"Whoa - " was all that Gabriel could say.  
  
"I never thought that I would see the Angel again. Not after what happened the last time."  
  
"What happened?" Sara asked.  
  
"Due to what I am and how I was raised, I did not have much experience with people or emotions. When I found the three of you, I bonded instantly. I came to learn that I was fiercely protective - overprotective. Of the 3, I was closest to the Angel, and so most protective of him. One day, he told me that he had to leave. There was a battle being fought and he was needed. I didn't want him to go, I knew that if he left, he would not return. I grew very angry. I said things that I did not mean, I hurt him very deeply. After that day, I have not seen him until today. It has been well over a millennium." Nikki walked away - her posture was defeated - drained. Gabriel looked at her staring in wonder and disbelief.  
  
"Sara, may I see the Witchblade please? It is calling to me."  
  
"Sure." Sara said, slightly confused as she handed Nikki the Blade. Phoenix placed the blade upon her own wrist and it instantly snaked its way up her arm. The gem was at her wrist, but it wasn't exactly a bracelet nor was it a gauntlet. A silvery tendril extended itself, winding its way up her arm like a long lost lover. It did so so quickly that the eye could hardly follow. It looked to be magic how the Witchblade was attached to her wrist, rather her arm. And at the same time, one could see how it would be very difficult to remove the Blade from her person.  
  
"Gabriel, give me your hand." Nikki said softly her voice trying to avoid emotion, though there was something playing in her voice. Gabe looked to Sara who shrugged, unsure.  
  
"I'd love to help you here Gabe, but I think that this choice is yours and yours alone." Sara said her eyes reassuring.  
  
"Gabriel, know that I would never harm you. What happened so long ago shall not happen again, but you need to know, you need to understand, and this is the easiest and safest way. Besides, the Blade misses you, it remembers you. it always knows its partners in crime." Nikki said with a soft smile. Gabriel tentatively reached his hand out to the strange girl - Nikki. Nikki took his hand in her Witchblade hand. They were instantly thrown into a world of times so long past. 


	5. Connections

Chapter 5: Connections  
  
Gabe saw himself in the garbs of many different times and places. He also saw the girl. The images flashed by quickly as if on speed rewind. They were somewhere he didn't recognize. It was dusk, the girl - Nikki was sitting on a rock crying. She looked a little younger than she looked now. He got the impression that his past self did not yet know her. Past Gabe walked over to the crying girl to comfort her, he had felt inexplicably drawn to her. When she looked up at him, he say twin Witchblade gems staring back at him.  
  
He saw flashes of other lives, many other lives. Then, he saw himself in the garb of a warrior, and saw Nikki dressed as a lady, something that seemed a little out of place considering how she acted now. But then maybe she hadn't always been this way, maybe this was something that time had done to her. Past Nikki was crying again, her eyes glittering like diamonds. She was pleading with Past Gabe. Duty and honor were making him leave. She got angry and physically pushed him away. She yelled and he flinched. Gabe couldn't hear what was being said, but he could feel that his past self was hurt and deeply.  
  
"Fine then. Go to your death! Ignore me. Know that if you go, you will never see me or hear from me again! You won't be coming back. I know that. why can't you see it?" Past Nikki screamed, her voice full of anger, sadness, and despair. Past Gabe shook his head solemnly, said "I'm sorry," turned, and walked away. Nikki stood there watching him leave her. Staring at his back until he was gone from view. Then, she collapsed to the ground crying.  
  
Then, as suddenly as they had been thrown into the visions, the memories, they were thrown back out into reality. Both just stared at each other for what could have been an eternity. Gabe looked down, feeling something odd on his arm. The Witchblade had snaked a tendril around his wrist and seemed reluctant to let him go. Sara watched amazed. She had watched as the Witchblade made a connection to him. Why hadn't it done that through her? Maybe it was because Nikki had a stronger connection to him.  
  
Nikki felt tired. She had bared her soul, opened her memory, her heart to Gabe - the angel whose wings she had tried to clip so long ago. She would forever regret that moment. It was bittersweet to see him again, especially after that incident. It may have happened over a thousand years ago, but the pain of that loss was still fresh upon her soul. The Witchblade retracted into bracelet form and fell from her wrist. Nikki collapsed onto her couch soon after.  
  
Gabriel was stunned, he did not know what was going on. He had seen someone other than Sara wield the Witchblade, and quite expertly at that. The Witchblade had connected to him, and it wasn't hurting him. He been shown his past lives, he had been told that he was a part of the inner circle surrounding the Witchblade. Then there was the strange woman - Nikki. It was obvious that in his past lives they had been connected, but what now?  
  
"Are you okay Nikki?" Sara asked, snapping Gabe out of his introspection.  
  
"I shall be fine. I have not done that in a very long time. It took a lot more out of me than I remember, but then it has been so long. It is nothing though, I shall recover."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. I know that you are wondering why the Witchblade would do this to me. You have to understand that the Witchblade is a deeper part of me than you can understand and when I opened those doors to help Gabe, it was me that hurt me, not the Blade. In fact the Witchblade tried to shield me, to protect me, but that would have limited what Gabriel was able to see. It was better to do it this way so that I would not have to repeat this in the event that he needs space." Nikki replied, her voice tired.  
  
"Is it alright if I go get some air? My head's still swimming." Gabe said softly.  
  
"Go out on the fire escape, it is safer there and you'll be near by if we - if Sara needs you or you need us - her. The knight is not yet our ally so keep alert." Nikki said, her voice still drained. Gabe wasn't sure what Nikki was talking about, but he hadn't wanted to go too far anyway. He had questions, and he'd probably have more after he sorted his thoughts out. That's why he needed air, to take all of this in and to process it. He climbed out onto the fire escape and sat down. Inside, the girls were having a talk.  
  
"So, how are you really?" Sara inquired.  
  
"Tired. My heart feels heavy with the weight of past guilt. I am happy to see him, but I am worried that I will hurt him again. I am worried that after seeing what happened, he will leave again. You have to understand Sara, the angel was my first and only love."  
  
"Ohhh."  
  
"I did not understand it then. I couldn't figure out why it hurt so much when he told me that he had to leave. I only came to realize it, to understand it long after he was gone. I looked for him every time I found that you had been reborn figuring that he had too, but I couldn't find him. I kept thinking that if I hadn't let him walk away, if I hadn't fought him, that maybe I'd still have him. All I had was his ring. and one of his war buddies had brought it back to me at his dying request. That was a sharp pain indeed knowing that my vision had indeed been correct. I still have the ring, but then it too is a part of this. I wanted to give it back to him, but this is the first time that I have seen him since it was returned to me so long ago." Nikki sighed.  
  
"How is the ring a part of this?"  
  
"It is a part of the collection. It is a talisman like the Witchblade, though not nearly as powerful. It is how we stay connected. Each piece is connected directly to the Witchblade. It is how we are able to find each other and know when there is trouble."  
  
"How many pieces are there? And what are they?"  
  
"There is the Witchblade and it's three counterparts. The Dragon Ring, The Angel Ring, and The Phoenix Crystal." Nikki replied.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Let me explain."  
  
"Please do."  
  
"The dragon ring is given to the blade knight. It was formed from the blood of the knight mixed with the blood and tears of the wielder. The Witchblade itself forged the item using an ancient magic that only I can use, and even I cannot do it now. I think it was only because the blade had wanted a way to keep in touch with the others that it allowed this to occur. The ring has never left him, even though he is not timeless. It is his unique identifier and it connects him to the blade and binds him to us. It allows him to access some aspects of the blade. ones our knight would need - speed, stealth, healing, his danger sense. among others."  
  
"So that's how Notting - Ian does it."  
  
"The angel ring is given to the blade angel. It was forged by my own hand, my tears, my blood, the angel's blood and the prayers of the universe went into it. The design is ancient, made to mirror the more heavenly aspects of the blade. The magic the blade used to forge the ring was different than what it used for the dragon ring. It is more for support, protection and healing. abilities and duties more befitting of an angelic soul."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Last, but not least is the Phoenix Crystal. It was made from my blood and the blood/magic of the Witchblade itself. The crystal resides within me where it was created by the blade. It is the Witchblade inside of me. Forever a part of me, I have only seen it in dreams the blade has given me."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Is that all you can say is wow?"  
  
"Sorry, that's just.. Wow." Sara laughed, Nikki joined in. It was good to see that Nikki was recovering.  
  
"You won't have to worry about Gabe. He won't leave. I think you'll be surprised at how he reacts to this. I don't think he can fault you for your actions. Besides, that happened a long time ago, the past is the past. it's beyond time to move on."  
  
"I know, but I can't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I need to know he forgives me before I can forgive myself. But I won't ask for his forgiveness, I can't. I don't. it's hard."  
  
"It always is. We should see if Gabe is okay."  
  
"You're right Sara, we should." 


	6. Questions and Answers?

Chapter 6: Questions  
  
Nikki slowly, silently opened the window that led to the fire escape, not wanting to disturb Gabriel who seemed to be meditating. The night air was cool, but not unpleasantly so and the scent of the city and the river drifted along tainting what would have been clean air otherwise. There was a presence near them, a familiar one, but one that was keeping its distance as well. He was watching as he usually did. Confused as to why the Bowman child was there. Ian had seen the Bowman boy step out onto the fire escape and sit to meditate as if he belonged there. True, there had been a look of confusion on his face, but he also did not seem nervous. Nikki looked to the night sky and let her mind extend..  
  
"Ian. do stop lurking in the shadows. If you are so curious come to my door." she said softly through telepathy. Ian was startled to hear that voice in his mind. But he was also compelled to follow it. He turned away from his vantage point and began his advancement upon the door in question.  
  
"Hey Gabe, you gonna sit out there all night?" Sara called her voice dancing with laughter. Gabe slowly opened his eyes and looked to the window and to the girl blocking his view of Sara.  
  
"Hi." He said softly, a half smile on his lips. Nikki's heart skipped a beat.  
  
"Hi. Are you all right? Is there." Nikki started, Gabe raised his hand and put a finger to her lips to silence her.  
  
"I'm fine. I have questions. but I'm fine. You need to relax. In a millennia you still haven't learned how to do that." Gabe said softly. Nikki pulled back.  
  
"Relaxation is something I cannot afford. I must be ever alert lest the Blade fall into evil's hands again." Nikki sighed and started to turn away, Gabe reached out his hand to catch her wrist.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
"I know."  
  
"What is the matter Nikki?"  
  
"Nothing. I - I'm fine."  
  
"Liar. What is bothering you so much?"  
  
"I cannot tell you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I simply cannot."  
  
"I don't blame you you know."  
  
"What?" Nikki said startled.  
  
"For what happened a millennia ago. I don't blame you."  
  
"Y-you d-d-don't?"  
  
"No. If you care about someone so much it's hard to let them go when you know they're not going to come back. It must have been hard watching me walk away."  
  
"Harder than you can imagine." Nikki said softly as she came out onto the fire escape.  
  
"Why did you stand there and watch?"  
  
"Because I knew that it was the last time I was going to get to see you."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I have something that belongs to you. I would have returned it sooner but in the millennia since we last met, this is the first time I have seen you." Nikki said as she held the Angel ring out.  
  
"Wow. it's amazing. and it's that old?"  
  
"Older, but it's yours."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It was made for you a long time ago."  
  
"Did you make it?"  
  
"The Witchblade and I did. yes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you are a member of the inner circle of the Witchblade. You are as much a part of this as Sara is, as I am."  
  
"So I guess that means that this ring is more than it seems?"  
  
"Yes. It connects you to the Witchblade and gives you access to its more angelic abilities."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
"The ability to heal others as well as the self. support and protection. duties and abilities more suited to an angelic soul."  
  
"I see."  
  
"A warrior you may have been, but it is not in your soul. You fight when you know you must. You would rather help without fighting. It has always been this way. You prefer peace, and I cannot blame you for that. I would give up eternity if I could have one moment's peace. One moment where I am not what I am. where I am normal." Nikki said her voice trailing off and going sad once again. Gabe reached out and lifted her chin so that her eyes met his.  
  
"It's really hard for you isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, I may have been created for this - made for this - raised to do this, but beneath it all. I'm still."  
  
"Human."  
  
"Well not quite. I've never been human, but I guess since I am patterned after humans it'll have to do."  
  
"What is it like?"  
  
"What do you mean what is it like?"  
  
"What is it like knowing what you know?"  
  
"It is hard. I have the weight of eternity on my shoulders and no one to take any of the burden from me. It is a weight I must carry alone. I must keep record of it so that nothing is forgotten, that no lesson goes unlearned. So that nothing is meaningless."  
  
"That's some responsibility."  
  
"It is."  
  
"And to think that it was laid upon you when you were just a baby. How could they do that to you?"  
  
"I was not seen as a person. I was seen as an extension of the Blade and nothing more. I was a tool." Nikki said her voice brimming with tears as one stole down her cheek. Gabriel made move to wipe it away, but she turned her face away from him. Sure she wanted things to be as they had been once, but she could not open herself to this. Not now. Her angel would just have to wait. There was too much pain; too much time had gone by. She needed to sort things out for herself. After all this time he could still make her react as though she were truly human. He could still make her feel.  
  
"How could they not see you as a person? You look like one to me."  
  
"They knew how I was created. They knew that I belonged to the Blade. They had counseled the woman that gave birth to me when she found out that she was barren and would never be able to have children. They knew what sort of miracle I was."  
  
"That shouldn't have mattered. You were still a person."  
  
"I wish someone would have told them that then. Maybe then I wouldn't be so mixed up now."  
  
"Why are you mixed up?"  
  
"Much conflicts within me. They trained me to be like a machine. To live for the Blade to protect it, to watch it, to guard it, to record what happened, to occasionally wield it should the need arise. Then I met the Angel and emotion started to enter my world. Emotion other than the compassion they had taught me so that I would want to help save the world. I started to become almost human. The two different methodologies sometimes war within me. The Blade Phoenix warring against the humanity for dominance. The humanity is content where it is, but my training as the soul of the blade, well it doesn't like me being anything other than that - it wants my full cooperation it wants me to be what I was. Do you understand Gabe?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I think that a lot of this still needs to sink in. But I am starting to I think. Funny, I used to think that there was nothing that could baffle me. I mean look at what I do for a living. Even learning about the Witchblade as a real item didn't phase me. But you, you are a conundrum." Gabe said, his voice filled with amusement.  
  
"What if anything do you plan on doing about that?" Nikki said, her voice distant, her heart hopeful.  
  
"Well I never have been one to sit idly by and let something confuse me." Gabe said. Nikki didn't think that he would ever know or understand how much that sentence meant to her, she could only hope that it meant what she wanted it to mean.  
  
"And what do you mean by that Mr. Bowman?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know Ms.Magae?" Gabe said, his tone playful. 'You have no idea.' Nikki thought, but she dare not speak those words lest her hopes be shattered should he not be serious. Better to let herself dream - for now. 


	7. Fires

Chapter 7  
  
Fires  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, except Phoenix and my story line. I wish I owned this, or that they were paying me as I am a poor college student and need the money, but alas, I am not allowed to profit from this and so I am not. I am just using these characters for my own flights of fancy.  
  
Feedback: Is a must if I am to keep writing as my muses demand gratification for their hard work to justify the need to be slave drivers so that their work does not falter and so making it that mine cannot either.  
  
That is all you may now read the actual tale l.o.l.  
  
Gabe studied the planes of Nikki's face. There was so much pain and sadness held within those strangely colored orbs. He was not quite sure of what he was supposed to do now, but then when had his life ever been simple? He dealt in strange, rare, and even powerful objects. Some members of his clientele were probably not the kind of people you wanted to admit that you knew. But this was his work, and he enjoyed it. He had known something was up the day that he met Sara Pezinni and saw the witch's glove upon her wrist. He had never imagined that it would come this far, that it would involve so much. He had never guessed that he was a part of it all. How could he have, only women could wield it, and nothing was ever said about the accompanying pieces to the puzzle. He had a feeling that was in part due to the young woman before him.  
  
Nikki began to get nervous. Gabe was suddenly quiet and there was something about him just now. He was lost in thought again. Nikki contemplated leaving but when she saw Ian and Sara in her living room talking, she thought she'd be better off out here on the fire escape with Gabe. As much as she wanted the blade knight to join them once again, she did not want to deal with him at present. She looked back to Gabe who was still lost in his own mind. As she looked up to the starry night sky, she began to feel cold. and dizzy. Soon she was pitching forward into Gabe, her vision masked by the dark cloak of unconsciousness.  
  
Gabe came out of his thoughts just in the nick of time. A moment longer and Nikki's unconscious form would have thrown them both into the railing painfully. Gabe was confused and quite scared. From what Sara had told him, Nikki was a very strong young woman, so something like this was bound to be way out of the ordinary for her. Gabe got to his feet, leaning her limp form against his own body so that he could let Sara and. Ian Nottingham? In on the development. He knocked on the window and soon Sara and Ian were both there helping him get Nikki back inside.  
  
"Gabe what happened?"  
  
"I don't know Chief, she just pitched forward out of the blue."  
  
"Were there any warning signs, did she seem faint?" Nottingham inquired his training kicking in.  
  
"I have to admit I couldn't tell you. I was lost in thought and when I came out of my mind to ask her something I was greeted with her nearly knocking me into the railing out there."  
  
"I think perhaps this has all been a bit too much for her. I do not think that even the soul of the blade knew what was in store for her."  
  
"Do you know something we don't Nott. Ian?"  
  
"Well I do know who she is and what she is. I assume that with this comes a great deal of ability. However I do not think that she was trained to be human. She was not ready for the sudden humanity of her situation and it has over taken her."  
  
"Spoken like someone who knows." Gabriel said slightly under his breath. He surprised himself a little, standing up for Nikki like that - especially against the man that had threatened him on more than one occasion. Ian just stood there for a moment, a stricken look ghosting in his eyes for the briefest of moments.  
  
"Somehow I think it's more than that." Gabe said softly.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Sara asked.  
  
"She put on the Witchblade and showed me the past. She was visibly affected after we came out of it, but yet we allowed her to let us brush it off. She said it herself that she had not done that in a very long time. How are we to know just how deeply that this has affected her? We've all just met her, and true we may have known her in times gone by, but we've all just met her in this one. We all have to get to know her all over again. So you tell me what made me sat that it's more than her not being 'trained' to be 'human'." Gabriel ranted. Sara and Ian both stood there in awe for a few moments.  
  
"Well how do we help her?" Sara inquired.  
  
"Something tells me that the answers lie within us."  
  
"Gabe?"  
  
"We are each in some fashion a facet of the blade. She is the living extension of it. Come on was I the only one paying attention to anything that she's said since calling us all here?" Gabe was getting frustrated. He wanted to help Nikki and they were standing around like idiots.  
  
"We have each been given artifacts of power. You Sara, have the Witchblade itself. Ian and myself possess rings - each forged by the blade. There has to be something that we can do for her." Suddenly the trio was thrown out of their ponderings by a blood-curdling scream. Nikki, still unconscious was clawing at her chest as if there was something inside of her on fire. As soon as Gabe got close to her, he collapsed in pain.  
  
"Gabe! Are you okay?" Sara asked as she ran over to him. She could feel the pain radiating from both Gabe and Nikki, but she herself was not affected. Gabe was clutching his chest just like Nikki. Ian pulled Gabe back away from the fallen girl. He almost instantly began to relax.  
  
"It's the crystal."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The crystal that the Witchblade created within her. that's what's hurting her."  
  
"How do you know?" Ian inquired.  
  
"I saw it. it's like the crystal is upset with her. It looked like it was cracking or something."  
  
"What can we do?" Sara asked.  
  
"I don't know. I don't know how to fix it. I can't even go near her. It hurts too much. As if the crystal was trying to keep me from her."  
  
"Perhaps that's it." Sara said softly.  
  
"What?" Gabe and Ian both looked to Sara.  
  
"Gabe, did she tell you anything about the last time she knew you?" Sara asked.  
  
" A little." He still looked puzzled.  
  
"You were her first and only love. She has never loved anyone else. Not even in the time that she had been unable to find you."  
  
"So that's what she wouldn't say. I could feel that there was something more, but she wouldn't elaborate. But it clears some things up a bit."  
  
"What things."  
  
"Things that she and I talked about. It also clears up why neither you nor Nottingham were affected by her pain as I was."  
  
"She said that the angel made her feel. She also said that the Blade Phoenix doesn't like her being human. It wants her to be the pure embodiment of what she was created for. If The Angel can make her feel, make her human, well it would make sense that the Phoenix Crystal which is the embodiment of her mystical nature would rebel against the Angel or rather me." Gabe explained. Understanding began to dawn on the faces of the other two conscious people in the room.  
  
"That still does not tell us how to help her." Ian pointed out.  
  
"On the contrary, it does."  
  
"Mind clueing us in on this revelation there Gabe?" Sara said with a slightly amused chuckle. She was amused because she knew she had been right about Gabe. He was coming around and Nikki would not have to worry about him rejecting her.  
  
"If I can get to her, I can heal her. It's a part of my abilities as The Blade Angel."  
  
"What the boy says does make sense. But if he is stricken with intense pain any time that he draws near her, how is he to get to her?" Ian inquired. He already had an idea, but he did not want to seem too bold just yet. He hadn't been fully accepted by the group yet, and didn't quite feel like he deserved it. So for now, he would remain as quiet and unobtrusive as possible.  
  
"That's easy, we help him." Sara said almost cheerfully. They quickly worked out a little plan. Gabe only hoped that he wouldn't pass out if he got so close to Nikki as to touch her. Sara and Ian each took one of Gabe's arms and led him to Nikki. When they reached the point where he had collapsed before he winced in pain again.  
  
"Keep going." Gabe said his voice full of the pain that he was feeling. Sara and Ian pressed on. As soon as they were to the couch on which Nikki had been placed, Sara and Ian winced in pain as well. though they weren't in nearly as much pain as the girl or Gabe. Sara held Gabe up while Ian dragged a chair to the couch so that Gabe could sit at a somewhat even level with Nikki. They sat him in the chair and then withdrew.  
  
Gabe gathered up every last bit of strength that he could muster within himself and willed himself to sit up. He placed both of his hands upon Nikki's, which were still clutching her chest where her heart would be. He was suddenly overcome with more pain than he had ever imagined. He collapsed, falling forward over his outstretched arms. Sara was alarmed. She was afraid for Gabe, especially when she had seen him pass out. Ian held her back, shaking his head.  
  
"This is something they must work through together. We cannot interfere."  
  
"But - Gabe."  
  
"Will be fine."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I am the Knight, I know more than you think." 


	8. A Shattering Revelation

Chapter 8  
  
A Shattering Revelation  
  
A Note of thank you to Diva Mercury for letting me use her Poem, Hope in this next chapter. Thank you DM. You've given Gabe some good words to work with. some very good words indeed.  
  
Now on with the story -  
  
**  
  
Sara had to wonder just what all Ian meant with his statement. But for now she had to shrug it off. The pain of the youngest and oldest members of the Witchblade circle was starting to get to her now. Sara had to wonder if Ian was feeling it as well, but if he was, he was as usual not showing it. Sara sat down trying to relax. and trying to help from afar. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on Gabe and Nikki. She felt a hand on her shoulder and lost the connection.  
  
"I told you this was something that they needed to work through on their own Lady Sara." Ian said softly, his voice low, near her ear. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck and a chill went up her spine causing her to draw a sharp breath. Ian moved back, sitting on the arm of the chair that his Lady had chosen to sit in. and he watched over the two. Making sure to keep Sara out of it.  
  
Gabe was in a strange place. There were small fires everywhere, it was dark as though it were night, and it was neither hot nor cold. The landscape was unfamiliar; it looked as though it belonged in an abstract painting. As he walked, he noticed a ring of small fires, and in the center of it, hugging her knees, was Nikki. As he got closer to the fires, they flared up blocking his way to Nikki.  
  
"Stop it! Let me past!" Gabe screamed at the blackness. The girl in the center of the fire cocked her head to the side as if confused.  
  
"Angel?" She said softly.  
  
"Yes Nikki, it's me." Gabe said, loud enough to be heard over the roaring of the flames. The fires started to ease back to their smaller pieces. Once again Gabe tried to get to her, and once again they leapt to keep him away.  
  
"Why won't you let me get to her?" he pled with the fires.  
  
"She is not like you."  
  
"Yes, she is."  
  
"Not of man or woman born."  
  
"I beg to differ."  
  
"A seed planted in the womb of a barren woman."  
  
"Barren she may have been, but Nikki came from her."  
  
"The Phoenix is not human. She is the living soul of the Witchblade and nothing more."  
  
"You're WRONG!" Gabe screamed.  
  
"She is a human being for crying out loud! Sure she's immortal, but she has feelings too. If you cut her she bleeds. If you cut her off from the people she cares about, she hurts. How can you be so heartless?!"  
  
"We were created for one purpose. We were not created to let emotions get in the way of our duty." The machine like voice said. It was as if this was the culmination of the programming that Nikki had received years ago.  
  
"Did you ever stop to think that emotions could help your duty? Not everything that hasn't been taught to you is bad."  
  
"Emotions cost us the blade before. It will not be allowed to happen again."  
  
"Emotions did not cost you anything. The blade wields it's own destiny. It left you of it's own free will."  
  
"She will not be hurt again."  
  
"I don't intend to hurt her."  
  
"You are human you're life will end. This will cause her pain if she is allowed emotions."  
  
"If you try to take this away from her now, she'll lose her hope. Hope is what drives humans, what makes them keep going even against the most dire of odds."  
  
"What hope will she have?"  
  
"We will be reborn."  
  
"That is not hope." "Maybe this will help you understand a little bit more. I read it somewhere a long time ago and it stuck with me. center When the phoenix of stories old  
  
Burst into fiery flame  
  
The hope that stayed in its plumage gold  
  
Made it rise from the ashes again.  
  
  
  
And like the phoenix we will see  
  
There's no need for us to cry  
  
For soon our golden wings will be  
  
Spread wide in the azure sky.  
  
Many a crisis comes and goes  
  
But we learn to move along  
  
Life always has its highs and lows  
  
But hope makes us stay strong. /center  
  
You see. There is something more out there. If we don't let ourselves hold on to something, if she has nothing to hold on to then what will she have to help her rise from the ashes?" The fires died down. Gabe stepped past without hindrance. Nikki was still hugging her knees, but she was also crying in the center of the fires.  
  
"Hey, are you alright?" Gabe asked.  
  
"I just want it to stop."  
  
"What to stop?"  
  
"The fighting. everything. I'm so tired. I can't take feeling like I'm being torn apart anymore." Nikki sobbed. Gabe knelt beside her and put his arms around her, drawing her into a hug.  
  
"Hush. I don't think that you're going to have to worry about that anymore. I think you're going to be okay now."  
  
"Do you really think so?"  
  
"Hey I got to you didn't I?" Gabe said with a smile as he stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. The next thing he knew, they were back in the real world. Sara wanted to get up and rush over to make sure her young friend was all right, but Ian kept her seated.  
  
"Not yet Sara." He whispered so that only she could hear. Nikki came to and was slightly confused. She tried to sit up, but Gabe was still 'laying' across her chest. Gabe felt Nikki move and so he sat back. He looked at her and smiled.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey." Nikki said, her voice weak from all the pain she had been in. Gabe gently brushed a strand of Nikki's hair from her forehead.  
  
"You okay?" he inquired.  
  
"I am now. Thank you, Gabe."  
  
"You're welcome. Hey, I'm your angel for a reason - right?" He said with a laugh. Nikki joined him, though weakly. Her system still recovering from what her mind had been putting her through.  
  
"I'm glad you're back." Nikki said, her eyes full of admiration and love for the young man before her.  
  
"Me too." Gabe said as he embraced her. Nikki's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't quite sure if she was still dreaming or not, and she didn't care. She just wanted to revel in this moment for the rest of her life. 'They're so cute together.' Sara thought and she leaned into Ian's arm - startling the assassin. But for all of the love and camaraderie going on, he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Besides, he belonged with his Lady Sara just as young Gabe belonged with the Phoenix.  
  
Somewhere across town, a man fell to the ground in pain, clutching his hand to his chest. "It can't be - it isn't possible." And then he passed out. 


End file.
